This
is a device that allows you to read CF cards in your laptop computer
by just sliding them in the side. No other external devices, cables
or power is needed.

The
ability to use a device like this is one of the reasons I need a laptop
with PCMCIA slots. Otherwise you have to use an external device, which
is one more thing to have to carry on travel. No one connects their
camera to their computer for downloading since it's slow and runs
down the camera batteries.

This
one claims to be faster than others. Actually, it claims to be faster
than 16 bit adaptors. It is a 32 bit adapter.

SPECIFICATIONS

You
stick this in a PCMCIA slot in your laptop computer and then you put
your CF cards into it to download the data.

It
takes CF cards and should take microdrives.

It
worked on my Windows 2000 laptop but required messing around with
drivers. Delkin does not claim to support Apple computers as of October
2003, severely limiting its professional use. I have not tried it
in an Apple laptop to see. Delkin claims support for Windows 98, 98SE,
Me, 2000 and XP, which is too bad because Apple is used by over 50%
of the pro market including myself. (I get the fact that Apple
is used by most pros not only from what I see, but also reading in
a pro mag an article by an author who was trying to make a case for
Windows, and even he had to admit Apple has over half of the pro market.)

PERFORMANCE

The
whole point of this device is to get faster downloads than other CF
adapters. When I tested it I didn't get much of a speed improvement
over the Iomega device I got for free a year or two ago when I bought
my microdrive.

Oddly,
friends of mine with newer laptops and different PCMCIA adaptors have
seen much more improvement between their old adaptor and this Delkin.
I'm unsure if the Iomega adaptor is already very fast or what. For
instance, one friend saw 8 minutes for his old, unknown adapter and
just 2 minutes for this new one. Thus, my older computer with the
Iomega adapter is faster than his old adapter was on his newer computer,
but this Delkin adapter on his newer laptop smokes this adapter in
my older laptop. Your results will vary!

RECOMMENDATIONS

If
you already own another PCMCIA adaptor and are happy with it I wouldn't
get too excited.

If
you use a Windows laptop and want more speed it's definitely worth
a try.

If
you are buying your first one outright, as you should do if you use
a Windows laptop and CF cards, this would be my first choice.

I
don't see enough of a speed improvement to make it worth my while
since I already have one, and since I hope to be getting an Apple
laptop I certainly have no interest until Apple is supported. Apple
supports the CardBus 32 standard, so I have no idea why there is an
issue with this adapter.

On
the other hand, the reason I tried it is because a friend saw a huge
improvement and was very excited. If you shoot a lot and use Windows
by all means give it a whirl. heck, it's only $47 here.